ACOMSDave

Community Journalist

Northern Ireland: 20,000 March In Favour Of Gay Marriage

By Leave a Comment


Campaigners attend a rally in Belfast to show their support for marriage equality

Campaigners attend a rally in Belfast to show their support for marriage equality

Belfast demo seeks equality for LGBT people

by Mike Hamilton
in Belfast
ABOUT 20,000 gay rights supporters marched through Belfast city centre on Saturday to demand that the legal recognition of same-sex marriage be extended to Northern Ireland.
The protest wound its way through the main shopping district to Belfast City Hall, where a large open-air rally took place.
The action was jointly organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), Amnesty International and the Rainbow Project.
Participants included a wide range of individuals and movements, including LGBT groups, trade unions, charities, human and civil rights organisations, churches, political parties and pressure groups.
The huge turnout surprised even the organisers, who were forced to make repeated calls for participants to use all available space at both sides of the staging to allow thousands more people in to hear from a variety of invited guests.
Among the speakers was ICTU LGBT committee chairman Daire Toner, who said: “I dream one day of getting married, but my dreams are shattered by the laws that govern this state.
“Even if I got married elsewhere, a flight or a train journey would make it invalid.”
Rainbow Project director John O’Doherty added: “The numbers here say it all. We want our voice heard. We need to go out and tell our story, play our part in a new Northern Ireland. They can’t ignore us any more.”
Amnesty International Northern Ireland director Patrick Corrigan put it simply: “All people are equal — the state should protect all people equally.”
In 2005, while under direct rule by Westminster, Northern Ireland became the first part of the UK to introduce civil partnerships, but since the power-sharing institutions were restored at Stormont, the fight for equality has gone into reverse gear.
The most obvious manifestation of this was an attempt to introduce a “conscience clause” amendment to equality law which would have allowed firms owned by people of faith to discriminate against LGBT customers.
Members of the Northern Irish Assembly proposed motions supporting equality in civil marriage four times in the last parliament.
But, each time, the Democratic Unionist Party blocked it, using a device known as a “petition of concern,” which requires majorities on both the nationalist and unionist benches.
Further links:

 

Northern Ireland Political Leaders Missing In Action

By Leave a Comment

Belfast Book Festival THOMAS HITZLSPERGERThe Belfast Book Festival has just finished another brilliantly successful week of over 100 events.  For myself the highlight was meeting Thomas Hitzlsperger  a former footballer who has played for Aston Villa, Stuttgart (where he won the Bundesliga title), Lazio and West Ham United; who following his retirement  became the most high-profile footballer to come out, and in an interview to Die Zeit, he stated he wanted “to further the debate about homosexuality among sports professionals”.  His interview with Denise Watson was funny, enlightening and for someone who says he was late in coming to reading books, he came across as a very articulate and educated man, who is interested in being a wonderful role model to LGBT youth and others.

My second highlight was the presentation given by Stephen Connolly on Forrest Reid (born 24 June 1875, Belfast, Ireland; d. 4 January 1947, Warrenpoint, County Down, Northern Ireland) – a forgotten author from our shores.  A man who as known by a wide and high circle of friends and colleagues during his time, but whose books are difficult to find, yet when you do read one you want to read the others.  They books are full of wit and humour, brilliant descriptive pieces in relation to Belfast during his time.
…Though his books are not necessarily well known today, he has been labelled ‘the first Ulster novelist of European stature’, and comparisons have been drawn between his owncoming of age novel of Protestant Belfast, Following Darkness (1912), and James Joyce‘s seminal novel of growing up in Catholic Dublin, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man(1924). Reid’s fiction, which often uses submerged narratives to explore male beauty and love, can be placed within the historical context of the emergence of a more explicit expression of homosexuality in English literature in the 20th century...
Some of his books are being reprinted by Valancourt Books and can be purchased here:
Picture
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

EDITORIAL:   Whilst I loved the Book Festival, what was disappointing was the level of support from our political leaders, namely our Ministers, MLAs, and Councillors, who all appear to have been missing in action.  This is a world renown event, has world renown artists in attendance but a source has indicated to me that to their knowledge not one of them has made an appearance; this means that our Westminster MPs (18 as at 2010), our Stormont MLAs (108) and our Belfast Councillors (60 as at 2014) were all to busy to support what is a prime event both for Belfast and Northern Ireland, but also in the eyes of tourists and internationally.

Books Are Important, Awesome, they provide access to the world to our children, to those who are ill or infirm, and a method of escapism – so why do our leaders fail to understand this and support this event?

3 years in prison just for being gay

By Leave a Comment

 

Imagine: 3 years in prison just for being gay. That’s what could happen to Lahcen and Mohsine, two Moroccan gay men. They were arrested while taking a photo next to a monument in Rabat. The police said they were violating “public modesty” by standing too close together.
Their trial is in 3 days, where it’s likely they’ll get a 3-year jail term: last month some other Moroccans were given 3-year sentences, just for being gay. All Out’s Moroccan partner, the Aswat Collective, is fighting for Lahcen and Mohsine’s freedom and have urgently asked us to help.
A huge global outcry, just before their trial on Tuesday could be a game-changer for Lahcen and Mohsine. The Moroccan authorities are investing in the tourist industry to attract visitors from across the world – they can’t risk the damage to their reputation of a massive global petition.
Just 3 days left to speak out that being gay is not a crime. Sign and share the petition now, to build a giant call for Lahcen and Mohsine to be freed:
go.allout.org/en/a/lahcen-mohsine/
Lahcen and Mohsine were sightseeing around Rabat on 4 June when they were arrested. Mohsine doesn’t live in the city, so Lahcen had showed him several tourist spots. They were taking photos at the Hassan Tower when they were arrested.
Since their arrest, Lahcen and Mohsine’s full names and pictures were leaked to national media in Morocco. Hate rallies have been organised outside their families’ homes and the police haven’t tried to protect their families from harassment.
Call for Lahcen and Mohsine to be freed: go.allout.org/en/a/lahcen-mohsine/
Being gay is still illegal in Morocco, even though the 2011 constitution bars discrimination on any grounds. The Aswat Collective is campaigning for the Moroccan government to abolish the article of the penal code – Article 489 – which outlaws homosexuality.
In April, 120,000 All Out members got behind five Chinese women who were arrested for campaigning for LGBT rights and women’s equality. We joined a global outcry of journalists and world leaders and all five women were released! Then in May, more than 2,000 of us chipped in donations to safely rehouse three gay and trans refugees fleeing ISIS. Now let’s help free Lahcen and Mohsine.
Add your name now: go.allout.org/en/a/lahcen-mohsine/
Thanks for going All Out,
Andre, Guillaume, Jessica, Oscar, Rose and the rest of the All Out team.
P.S. All Out depends on small donations from members. Every individual donation goes to powering groundbreaking global campaigns. It also means governments and corporations can’t tell us what to do because we won’t take their money. Will you help keep us strong? Click here now to chip in: go.allout.org/en/a/ps-donate

In 3 days, two Moroccan men could get 3-year jail terms – just for being gay.

Join a global outcry to free Lahcen and Mohsine.

SIGN

Hypocrisy Strikes Again

By Leave a Comment

Editorial:  How often in the recent past have we had pastors, reporters and people in power rant and rave about gays and the sin they do, and then we discover they are either closet gay themselves or have led adulterous lives.  Who is doing the most harm I wonder?

Reprinted from  THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015

Michigan Grindr pastor urged gay teen to kill himself, says mom

The closeted father of five told a gay 17-year-old he was going to hell, so he might as well go now

Michigan Grindr pastor urged gay teen to kill himself, says mom

Michigan Grindr pastor urged gay teen to kill himself, says mom
Jennifer Kish, Tyler Kish (WNEM)
The recently outed anti-gay pastor Matthew Makela is coming under fire not just for his hypocrisy but, according to the mother of one of his parishioners, he encouraged her gay son that since he was going to hell anyway, he might as well kill himself.
After Queerty reported earlier this week that the married Midland, Michigan pastor used the Grindr networking app to chat with, and solicit sex from, other men. St. John’s Lutheran Church, where Makela worked until his resignation on Monday, issued a statement urging people not to read any more about Makela or his “sin.”
“The details of sin that have been kept confidential are being posted online by those who seek to do harm to the Makela family and to St. John’s,” the statement said. “This is taking an already difficult situation and making it even more painful. I write this to you to warn you that you may be confronted with the details of the sin, and to remind you that sin is never pretty.”
The writer of the Queerty article disagreed, claiming that “[i]f Makela made even one LGBT kid at St. John’s ‘Christ-based’ elementary school, their parents, friends, family or anyone who ever stepped foot in the church feel like being true to yourself is shameful (and it seems all too likely that he did), then we’re glad to share his hypocrisy with the world.”
According to Jennifer Kisk, Makela did far worse than make his LGBT parishioners uncomfortable — he actively urged them to kill themselves. As WNEM’s David Custer reported, Makela told then 17-year-old Tyler Kish — who was suffering from depression at the time — that if he insisted on embracing a homosexual lifestyle, he might as well commit the mortal sin of suicide because he was already ticketed for hell.
“If he’s going to hell for being gay then he might as well commit suicide,” Kish said Makela advised her son. He also, she alleged, went on social media to berate her for remaining supportive of her son after he came out to her.
Watch Custer’s interview with the Kishes below via WNEM.
WNEM TV 5 – CLICK THE LINK FOR THE VIDEO
 

Why GLBT Books Are Important

By Leave a Comment

Editorial:  Over the last week The Crescent Arts Centre has held its 5th annual Belfast Book Festival.  We in NIGRA have been extremely pleased to support this festival and to be involved in two of its events:

and

  • photo of BBF15: Thomas HitzlspergerTHOMAS HITZLSPERGER – who became the most high-profile footballer to come out as gay following his retirement from football, and his international career.

Both events highlighted just how important role models are to all of our community, but in particular to thos who are coming to terms with being gay.  In today’s society positive role models are rarely provided, and books and good movies are a natural provider of these.

However, with budget cuts, and with book providers not looking outside the norm for their sales, and also with gay magazines being prohibitively expensive and not freely accessible in libraries etc. todays LGBT youth has been and is being short changed.

I am reprinting an article from GLBT News on The Importance of GLBT Book Month written by Peter Coyl to support my comments:

The Importance of GLBT Book Month

As a teenager, I was such an avid library user I got a job shelving books at the library in the Children’s section. On my breaks, I would roam the stacks of the second floor adult fiction area looking for something new to read. One day, a book caught my eye, and I started flipping through it. It was about gay people. Young and scared, I put the book away and quickly checked to see if someone had seen me looking at this book. I then went back to work, my brain reeling.
A week or so later, I realized that if I accidentally found a book with gay people in it, maybe I could “on purpose” find one. So I looked in the library catalog and voila: we had some. In fact, we had a book in the Young Adult section that had gay characters in it.
So at age 15, that is how I came to read Entries from a Hot Pink Notebook by Todd Brown. This was the first book to show me that I was normal. That yes, other teenagers felt like I did. Despite it being on the shelf and being accessible, I was scared to read it and scared others would find out I was reading it.
This is why GLBT Book Month is important.
GLBT Book Month is important because it gives readers exposure to the works of authors and topics they may not have known existed.
The GLBTRT Executive Board often is contacted (collectively and individually) by library staff or librarians about problems at their library relating to GLBT materials: books cataloged so kids can’t find them, displays that are not allowed to be put up, programs that are cancelled, and the numerous other issues that come up when librarians try to provide equitable service.
This past week, a library an 75 miles away from me made headlines because of a cancelled author appearance (the author has written a book about coming out as a Christian) and the removal of a PFLAG display that had been constructed to coincide with the visit. In the end, the appearance was reinstatedand the display put back up. Things like this shouldn’t happen. But they will continue to happen as long as we do not speak up and promote what we do.
I am not encouraging civil disobedience or actions that would put employment in peril. I am encouraging promoting of GLBT Book Month in whatever way you can in your institution. We have a book month, let’s use it.
That being said, though, it’s time GLBT books, especially those in libraries, came out of the closet.
Libraries and librarians need to stop being afraid of what is on their shelves. It’s been said that a good library should have something in it to offend everyone. Let that be the case.
GLBT Book Month is for everyone. It isn’t just about highlighting books for the GLBT community, it’s about exposing every reader to a new idea, a new story, a new author. In the same way National Poetry Month isn’t just for the poets, GLBT Book Month isn’t just for “the gays.”
So dust off those display ideas you’ve had squirreled way. Order a poster and bookmarks from ALA Graphics. Cut out those rainbow letters. Tack up a flag in the corner. Put out some books from theStonewall Book Awards, Rainbow Book List or Over the Rainbow Book list. Let your community know that you are proud to serve everyone. And if you have a copy of Entries from a Hot Pink Notebook in your collection, maybe you can put it in your display for the kid who shelves your children’s books to see. He may need it.

Do the LGBT Youth in Northern Ireland feel safe?

By Leave a Comment

Editorial:  So LGBT young people in Scotland ‘feel unsafe’!  I wonder if the same is true in Northern Ireland – only you the readers can tell us.  What not leave us share stories in our comments  box.

 
 
 

Many LGBT young people ‘feel unsafe’

gay couple holding hands

Many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) young people still encounter harassment in public spaces, according to a Scottish charity.

LGBT Youth Scotland said its research suggested more needed to be done to ensure LGBT young people felt safe.
It urged those affected to understand their rights and report discrimination.
The charity said not every young person was aware of what constituted a criminal act under hate crime legislation .
In an online survey of LGBT people aged 13 to 25 conducted by the charity, 49% of the 273 respondents said they felt safe and supported by the legal system. The figure fell to 40% among those who identified as transgender.
Half of those surveyed said they were aware of their rights, while a similar proportion (53%) said they would feel confident in reporting a crime they experienced to the police.
Among transgender young people the figure dropped to 48%, while bisexual women were the least likely to feel confident reporting a hate crime at 46%.

Hate crimes

Just over half (51%) of transgender young people said they felt safe using public transport.
While the charity has welcomed an increase in the reporting of hate crimes, YGBT Youth Scotland has recommended that campaigns, activities and lesson plans be developed for use in schools, with specific reference to hate crime.
Chief executive Fergus McMillan said: “In Scotland, we are fortunate to have strong hate crime legislation that is inclusive of transgender identities yet the safety report shows a gap in knowledge and confidence for transgender young people in particular.
“When young people know about their rights, and have confidence in the process, they are more likely to be willing to report.
“An increase in reported crimes since the introduction of the legislation is certainly positive, yet more must be done to ensure that LGBT young people feel safe in their communities, understand their rights and how to report discrimination and harassment, and have the confidence to report.”

Gay Cake Affair 'Crumbles' on

By Leave a Comment

Anti-Gay Marriage Cake Baker Outlines Appeal Grounds

 

By The Gay UK, Jun 11 2015 07:25AM
The Christian-run bakery which refused to bake a pro-marriage cake has outlined its appeal to the judgement that found it had acted unlawfully in refusing the cake order.
CREDIT: Steve Schoeder (flickr)

CREDIT: Steve Schoeder (flickr)
The bakery, in Northern Ireland, was found to have acted unlawfully when it refused to make a cake that beared a pro gay marriage slogan for Gareth Lee, by a court last month. It was ordered to pay £500 in compensation to Mr. Lee.
In a statement released by the Christian Institute, an organisation that has funded many appeals against legal matters surrounding gay issues, has raised three questions to support their appeal.
Whether the judge was correct, as a matter of law, to hold that Ashers had discriminated against Mr Lee directly on grounds of sexual orientation.
Whether the judge was correct, as a matter of law, to hold that Ashers had discriminated against Mr Lee directly on grounds of religious belief or political opinion.
Whether the judge was correct, as a matter of law, to hold that Ashers was not entitled to protection as a result of the rights under Articles 9 and/or 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
A spokesperson for the Christian Institute, Simon Calvert, believes that “most people” would support an overturning of the ruling that found that the business had acted unlawfully, this despite a poll undertaken in 2014 which showed that the majority supported same-sex marriage.
The Christian Institute is a registered charity that has sought to retain section 28, to raise the age of consent for gay people and opposed the Civil Partnership Act and same-sex marriage act.
The Christian Institute has backed many legal actions in the past, but has been unsuccessful in many attempts, most notably the Christian Institute backed Hotel owners Mr and Mrs Ball, who infamously denied lodgings to a gay couple. Numerous attempts of appeal have all subsequently failed.

Presbyterians in Scottish gay ministers boycott

By Leave a Comment

Editorial: So the Irish General Assembly of the Presbyterian’s are boycotting the Scottish Assembly over its more liberal views on gay marriage and gay vicars – loving and accepting aren’t they!

 
Belfast TelegraphBY ALF MCCREARY – 11 JUNE 2015
The Scottish Presbyterian Assembly voted to allow gay people to serve as ministers

The Scottish Presbyterian Assembly voted to allow gay people to serve as ministers

The Presbyterian Church in Ireland has delivered a resounding snub to its Scottish brethren by boycotting their Assembly in protest over a controversial gay clergy vote.

The Scottish Church voted last month to allow people in same-sex civil partnerships to serve as ministers and deacons, a move that angered many leaders of Presbyterianism here.
And now, in an unprecedented sign of the split between the regions, the Irish General Assembly has voted not to send a representative to the Scottish Assembly next year, thus breaking a long-standing tradition between the two sister Churches.
The Scottish Church historically has close links with the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, which has some 230,000 members.
Last month Church leaders here said their Scottish counterparts had “moved away from the historic and biblical position”.
The vote to boycott the Scottish Assembly, which is bound to further sour relations, was passed by 99 votes to 84.
Before the vote was taken the clerk of the General Assembly, the Reverend Trevor Gribben, said it would apply for one year and would not affect any invitation to the Church of Scotland to send a representative to the General Assembly in Belfast next year.
But a spokesman for the Irish Presbyterian Church told the Belfast Telegraph: “While we have not taken a formal stance on the Scottish vote, as we said at the time, many would have felt a sense of sorrow and deep regret at the Church of Scotland’s decision to allow the ordination of ministers who are in a same-sex marriage.
“In a heartfelt and finely balanced debate at the General Assembly last week, members judged that they would express this deep regret by taking a symbolic step not to appoint representatives on this occasion to go to Edinburgh in 2016.”

The decision by the General Assembly to boycott next year’s meeting in Edinburgh is at odds with the plea by the incoming Irish Moderator, the Rt Reverend Dr McNie, who appealed in his opening address for greater toleration by society of the Church’s views.”

He added: “Toleration is a two-way street.”

The position taken by the Church of Scotland means it maintains a traditional view of marriage between a man and woman, but allows individual congregations to “opt out” if they wish to appoint a minister or a deacon in a same-sex civil partnership.

Meanwhile, the Belfast Telegraph understands that the Armagh Presbytery is setting up a special commission to consider the views of the Portadown minister the Reverend Christina Bradley, who publicly expressed support for same-sex marriage at the time of the Irish referendum.

This is thought to be because the Presbyterian Church teaching opposes same-sex marriage.

A spokesman for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland told the Belfast Telegraph yesterday: “Ultimately, a minister or an elder is answerable to their Presbytery for matters of life and doctrine.

“This is an internal matter for the Church, and the Armagh Presbytery has indicated it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”

The vote in the Irish referendum was overwhelmingly in favour of gay marriage and resulted in calls for a change to the law in Northern Ireland, with several high-profile peeople joining the campaign.

Northern Ireland's Marriage Equality Battle

By Leave a Comment

photo of two Irish marriage equality campaigners
Dear Friends
Did your heart melt when Ireland voted for equal marriage? What an awesome victory for love and equality. But across the border in Northern Ireland, thousands of loving gay couples are banned from marrying: they’re told their love isn’t worth as much as straight couples.
Some politicians in Northern Ireland haven’t yet made up their minds on gay marriage. If we can show them that equality is getting huge, mainstream support, it could persuade them to vote for equal marriage the next time it comes to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Our partners in Northern Ireland have asked us to build a giant petition in the next few days, to boost media coverage of a mass rally for equal marriage they are organising in Belfast on Saturday. Every voice is needed to bring undecided politicians on board. Sign and share now: go.allout.org/en/a/n-ireland-marriage
Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom where gay marriage is still illegal. England, Wales and Scotland have allowed it since 2014. But a survey in Northern Ireland in 2013 showed 59% of people want marriage equality – and it’s likely to be even more now, after the Yes Vote south of the border.
We’re seeing a pro-equality tidal wave. Since the Irish Yes vote, a cross-party group of Westminster MPs has called for action on equal marriage in Northern Ireland. And Belfast City Council just passed a motion in favour of marriage equality.
All Out’s partners in Northern Ireland – Amnesty International, The Rainbow Project and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions – have joined together to seize this huge political opportunity. They’re holding a mass rally in Belfast on Saturday 13 June. If thousands of All Out members from around the globe back their call for equal marriage, we can show that the world is watching. It could be enough to convince undecided politicians to support LOVE.
Sign now: go.allout.org/en/a/n-ireland-marriage
Just last week, a petition from All Out members helped get two anti-gay judges removed from Argentina’s courts. And our 285,000-strong petition against a proposed anti-gay law in Northern Ireland is one of the reasons why the law is stalled. Now let’s unleash our power to win equal marriage in Northern Ireland:
Add your name: go.allout.org/en/a/n-ireland-marriage
Thanks for going All Out,
Andre, Guillaume, Rose, Julia and the rest of the All Out team.
P.S. All Out depends on small donations from members. Every individual donation goes to powering groundbreaking global campaigns. It also means governments and corporations can’t tell us what to do because we won’t take their money. Will you help keep us strong? Click here now to chip in: go.allout.org/en/a/ps-donate

SUPPORT ALL OUT
We don’t take money from governments or corporations, so the only people we have to listen to are our members. Our tiny team stretches every contribution to make them count.		 DONATE
All Out is mobilising millions of people to build a world where no person will have to sacrifice their family or freedom, safety or dignity, because of who they are or who they love.

Our mailing address is:
All Out Action Fund
115 Fifth Ave
New York, NY 10003
Copyright © 2015 All Out, All rights reserved.
You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time.

Book Review: Speaking Out – Queer Youth in Focus photography by Rachelle Lee Smith

By Leave a Comment

 
 

Posted on: By Antony
speaking-out-book-cover-rachelle-lee-smith Speaking Out is a collection of photographic portraits of LBGT young people (aged 14-24 years old). 65+ young people, mostly from the USA are photographed. On each portrait young people have shared their thoughts, feelings or an experience. The young people have been honest in sharing their joys and tribulations of being an LGBT youth in a heterosexual world.In Speaking Out photographer Rachelle Lee Smith took the portraits, handed young people a sharpie pen and left them to write what they wanted. Among other topics, young people wrote about: stereotypes, identity, homophobia, self-love and romantic love. Young people identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered. It was great to see transgendered young people represented, however the vast majority of the young people identified as lesbian.

Years later, some young people reconsidered their portrait. They wrote about how their lives had changed and what they would write now. It was enjoyable to read these reflections from young people and the book would have benefited from having more of these. Several pages of the book felt wasted as they contained quotes that either praised the photographer or the book its self. Never was there any praise for the young people who were actually brave enough to share their stories.
Speaking Out is presented well, it’s a large book with 127 glossy pages in full colour. There is the odd page where a young person’s hand writing makes it difficult to read what they’ve written, but at no point is it unreadable.
Speaking Out is an enlightening book that shows how we are all the same, rather than how we are different. It should be available in every school, college, library and youth club.

What do you think of the book – let us know by writing in our comments.